Deep Dive into The Doctrine of Original Sin by Jonathan Edwards - Wherein It Is Inquired, Whether There Be Any Thing in the History of the Three First Chapters of Genesis, Which Should Lead Us to Suppose, That God, in His Constitution with Adam, Dealt with Mankind in General, as Included in Their First Father, and That the Threatening of Death, In Case He Should Eat the Forbidden Fruit, Had Respect Not Only to Him, but His Posterity?

The theological inquiry focuses on the Doctrine of Original Sin and whether the history in the first three chapters of Genesis shows that God treated Adam as the public head and representative of humanity. The conclusion drawn is that the historical record inevitably leads to this understanding, establishing the origin of mankind’s present sinful and miserable state.

Adam transgressed by ignoring the threat, "Thou shalt surely die," after eating the forbidden fruit. This threat, according to Hebrew idiom, established a real connection between his sin and the consequent punishment. The sentence delivered after the fall, "Unto dust shalt thou return," was a judicial act of condemnation that included Adam’s posterity, compelling man to labor until returning to the ground. This judgment also included the curse pronounced upon the ground, which brought thorns, thistles, and sorrow, terminating as punishment upon mankind.

This representative failure is contrasted with the arguments of Dr. T., who is critically examined for theological inconsistencies. Dr. T. insists that death for Adam's descendants is not a punishment but a "gracious disposal of a father," intended as a benefit of the highest nature leading to a more happy existence. Yet, Dr. T. contradicts himself by simultaneously defining this fate as the "one judgment to condemnation" recorded in Scripture and a "judicial act of condemnation," despite believing Adam's posterity to be perfectly innocent.

Adam affirmed the promise of redemption by renaming his wife Eve, which means Life, immediately after the fall. By calling her the "mother of all living," he understood that many of their descendants would be saved by a Redeemer who would reverse the death and ruin procured by the serpent’s malice. This necessity for deliverance confirms that the original covenant and its sanction applied universally, setting the stage for the dispensations of divine mercy that form the great subject of the Scriptures.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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